Spay and Neuter for Underserved Communities from Minnesota to Mexico
This week, we are back in Mexico with Maia Rumpho, the founder of Pet Project Rescue. Since 2008, Maia has been focusing on the root of animal overpopulation by offering spay and neuter programs, especially for underserved communities, from Minnesota to Mexico! With a background as a social worker, Maia shares with us her experience in approaching deprived communities in a considerate way, offering support and access to resources, rather than centering themselves as a foreign organization and dictating what local practices should be. We discuss approaching sensitive situations where people don’t even have proper houses, and how to get them onboard with providing sterilization to help their community animals. We also discuss how to avoid white savior behavior in animal rescue, by deferring to local knowledge and individuals, which also ensures the safeguarding of their team by aligning with local allies when entering areas with tumultuous local politics. Maia’s organization successfully collaborates with other groups on TNVR projects, such as Coco’s Animal Welfare in Playa del Carmen.
Listen to Episode #5 Now:
BIO:
Maia started volunteering in animal welfare in 2005, and on a trip to Mexico in 2007, she was motivated to start PPR, which began in early 2008. Her passion is to focus on the root of animal overpopulation, and for her, that is spay and neuter, especially for underserved communities from Minnesota to Mexico.